By Ron Smith
February 24, 2023
 
(ATHERTON, Calif.) In a triple-overtime thriller, #6 Westmont (23-3) suffered a 112-105 loss to Hope International (23-7) in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
The Warriors and Royals put on a show for the audience which included the Westmont Baseball team, in town to take on Menlo in a three-game series.
 
Together, the two teams made 25 shots from beyond the arc and connected on 75 field goals in an intense battle that saw the lead change hands seven times and tied seven more. Neither team ever held a double-digit lead.
 
Hope International posted a 51.4% field goal percentage while the Warriors shot 41.1%. Hope held a slight advantage in rebounds (50-47), but the Warriors collected 19 offensive rebounds to the Royals 11, leading to a second-chance-points advantage of 22-17. Westmont won the battle of the turnovers, committing just eight to Hope's 16. That resulted in 25 points off turnovers for the Warriors compared to 14 for the Royals.
 
Stefanie Berberabe produced a career-high 40 points in the game, which ranks second in the Westmont record book only to Tugce Canitez. Canitez tallied 43 against William Jessup in December of 2012.
 
Westmont entered the final quarter of regulation down 57-50. After giving up a layup to Shane Talley to trail by nine, Westmont went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. After a layup by Laila Saenz (16 points, 6 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by Berberabe, freshman guard Bailey Fong hit from long distance to record her first points of the game. Before the fourth quarter was over, she would knock down two more triples on her way to 11 points. She ended the game with 17 points, and five rebounds.
 
Destiney Okonkwo (4 points, 5 rebounds) scored on a layup with seven minutes to play in regulation to give Westmont its first lead (60-59) in more than 33 minutes of play.
 
After Hope tied the game with a free throw, Fong struck again from beyond the arc, making the score 63-60 with six and one-half minutes left in fourth quarter play.
 
With 5:51 to go, Brown was whistled for a foul. She played the next 20 minutes of the game with four fouls, though an observer would never know it judging by the intensity of her play.
 
The lead went back and forth several times over the next two and one-half minutes. With the Warriors down 70-69 and three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Fong hit her third three, putting Westmont up 72-69. Just 35 seconds later she scored on a jumper to put Westmont up by four.
 
However, the Royals tied the game on two free throws by Ysabelle Halemano and a layup by Jeanette Fine. With 51 seconds to go, Berberabe made the score 76-74 with a layup, but Fine responded in kind, tying the score at 76 to complete the scoring in regulation.
 
In the first five-minute overtime period, Fine landed a triple as the Royals went up 79-76. On the Warriors' ensuing possession, Sydney Brown (18 points, 13 rebounds) was fouled as she completed a layup and tied the game with the resultant free throw.
 
Shailissa Jarrett, the younger sister of Westmont alumna Iyree Jarrett, put the Royals back on top with a pair of free throws and Fine extended Hope's lead to four when she did the same.
 
With 2:40 on the clock, Fong made her fourth 3-pointer of the game. Over a minute later, Fong gave Westmont an 84-83 lead on a layup. The layup was answered by Fine with just 53 remaining in the bonus period. A pair of free throws by Berberabe restored a one-point advantage to the Warriors. Then, with 24 seconds left, Brown hit two more from the charity stripe, giving Westmont an 88-85 lead.
 
With eight seconds to play in the first overtime, Talley had a 3-point attempt blocked by Saenz, but Fine recovered the rebound and passed it to Jarrett who hit from the perimeter to send the game into the second overtime period with the score tied at 88.
 
The Warriors were down 95-93 with a minute and one-half left on the clock when Berberabe drove the lane and scored to tie the contest at 95. However, Talley scored again for the Royals, returning the lead to Hope.
 
With the Warriors down by two and time running out, Brown collected an offensive rebound and was fouled. The senior forward stepped to the free throw line with five seconds left and confidently swished them both to advance the contest to a third overtime period. Brown was seven of seven from the free throw line.
 
Over the first two and one-half minutes of the overtime period number three, both teams scored five points to make the score 102 apiece. Westmont's points came off a layup by Brown and a triple by Saenz.
 
However, the Royals went on a 7-0 run over the following two minutes to take a 109-102 lead with 34 seconds to play. It proved to be a deficit from which the Warriors were unable to recover.
 
As a result of its win, Hope International advances to the championship game tomorrow to take on Menlo. The Oaks earned their way into the championship with a 77-71 win over Vanguard.
 
Westmont will return to Santa Barbara to prepare for the NAIA National Championship which begins on March 7. Yesterday, the Warriors learned that they have been selected as one of 16 host sites for first and second round games. The other three teams that will compete at Westmont will not be named until Thursday, March 2
 
Tonight's 55-minute game, while disappointing in its result, impacted the Warrior record book in several ways.
 
Berberabe made 14 field goals, which ties the women's single game record. Megan Fate connected on 14 field goals in January of 2005 and Kelsey Sampson made 14 in both December of 2013 and February of 2014.
 
Westmont's 105 points was the fifth most scored by the Warriors and only the seventh time in program history the team has eclipsed the century mark.
 
More significantly, Berberabe set a new record for points scored in a Westmont uniform. Already the women's career leader, Berberabe eclipsed the 69-year-old career points record held by John Crew who played for the Westmont men's team from 1950-54 and held the record at 1,679. She now tallies 1,698 career points and is on the brink of becoming the only Warrior – male or female - to eclipse 1,700 points